Technology allowing phone users to find out sugar levels in a piece of fruit, or the fat in cheese, could be widespread in years.

Within just a few years, every smartphone could be fitted with a tiny molecular scanner that would transform what we know about the physical world.

That’s the prediction of the CEO of Consumer Physics, an Israeli start-up company that has developed a hand-held scanner they say will open up a new branch of easily accessible knowledge for the public.read more

When Sky launched its pay-TV platform in the UK, it was the outsider in the broadcast industry.

But now it is part of the media establishment, and last week’s launch of its new set-top box was the first move in its fight against a new breed of rivals. Sky Q is its response to the gauntlet Apple threw down in September. Launching a revamped version of the company’s Apple TV set-top box, Apple chief executive Tim Cook proclaimed: “The future of TV is apps.”

But Sky’s forthcoming “Q” service is aimed at a very different future from the one targeted by Apple, Google, Amazon and Roku. Those services all have streaming set-top boxes that would make broadcast TV channels just another app icon to pick.

Sky, by contrast, says “the future of TV is TV”. Andrew Olson is the broadcaster’s director of new products, and has led a years-long effort to develop Sky Q. He says the company understands “that people now live their lives with a mix of different screens”. But that mix is a problem for Sky. Data from the most recent British Audience Research Board (Barb) study of Britons’ TV habits, published by Ofcom, suggests that the only people watching more TV than they did a decade ago are the over-65s.read more

We’ve heard that before Samsung unveils the Galaxy Note 5, or maybe even at the same time, it will be supersizing its current Android flagship smartphone. There has been word on the street that a Plus-sized version of the Galaxy S6 edge is on its way.

There were also previous rumours that the company would consider a standard S6 Plus too, but those have waned of late and it is thought that only the edge will get a beefier version, bringing that gorgeous wrapped-screen design aesthetic to the larger phone market.

So we’ve decided to round-up all of the rumours and speculation so far to give you an idea of what, where and when the Galaxy S6 edge Plus might appear. We’ll also regularly update this feature as and when more speculation surfaces.read more

Bad weather has forced a solar-powered plane to halt its attempt to circumnavigate the globe and make an unscheduled landing in Japan.

Solar Impulse 2 pilot Andre Borschberg was 36 hours into what was expected to be a six-day journey from China to Hawaii, when he was forced into a holding pattern ahead of a planned crossing of the Pacific Ocean.

The experimental craft took off from Abu Dhabi in March, but it was always known that the Pacific crossing would be the most challenging part of the journey.

No ship or plane is trailing Solar Impulse 2 – meaning any failure over the ocean would have prompted a parachute descent with a life raft into the water.read more

The new HTC One M9 has been announced, and it’s already going to vying for the title of best phone in 2015, such is the combination of design and high power specs.

While loads of the mooted specs didn’t actually appear, the new phone has finally been launched following loads of leaks all over the internet, and it doesn’t disappoint, with upgrades in nearly every area.

The Taiwanese brand has confirmed that the phone will be launching in mid-March for Taiwan and Europe, with the US launch beginning April 10 and varying by carrier.

It’s another full metal uni-body on the HTC One M9, after near universal praise for the One M8’s distinctive design. The design was one of the key reasons we voted it TechRadar’s Phone of the Year 2014, and it’s back again.read more

Online music streaming in the UK has doubled in the last year, according to new figures.

But that has come at the expense of album sales, which have seen an overall dip during 2013 due to the decline in CD sales as people turn to digital listening.

Research by music trade body the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the Official Charts Company shows 7.4 billion tracks were played on paid-for or ad-funded streaming services in the last year – twice the 3.7 billion figure of 2012.

Around £103m was brought in over the past 12 months by subscription services – up £26m on the previous year.read more